author
Maria Gowen Brooks
1794–1845
A once-celebrated American poet of the early 19th century, she was best known for the long romantic poem Zóphiël; or, The Bride of Seven. Her work won the admiration of Robert Southey and Edgar Allan Poe, and it still offers a vivid glimpse of literary taste in her era.
1 Audiobook
Zophiel : A poem
by Maria Gowen Brooks
About the author
Born Abigail Gowen in Medford, Massachusetts, around 1794, she later became known as Maria Gowen Brooks and also wrote under the name "Maria del Occidente." She published poetry at a young age and developed a reputation for an intense, richly emotional style that stood out in American literary circles.
Her best-known work, Zóphiël; or, The Bride of Seven, brought her the widest attention. Robert Southey encouraged her work and helped introduce it to readers, while Edgar Allan Poe praised her highly. During her lifetime, she was regarded by some admirers as one of the notable women poets writing in English.
Brooks spent parts of her life in the United States, England, and Cuba, and she died in Matanzas, Cuba, on November 11, 1845. Although her reputation faded after her own century, she remains an interesting figure in American poetry for her ambition, her dramatic imagination, and the unusual international path of her literary life.